UFC faces 2nd lawsuit alleging unfair business practices

Two former UFC fighters are attached to a lawsuit filed last week related to an ongoing case accusing the organization of engaging in unfair business practices.

The new filing is essentially identical to one filed in December 2014 that is still working its way through the courts.

Fighters who competed in the UFC from Dec. 16, 2010, to June 30, 2017, are expected to be granted class-action status in the first suit. The one filed last week in the federal district court of Nevada is aimed at extending that period, according to Eric L. Cramer of Berger-Montague, one of the attached firms.

“By filing this action, we are bringing the proposed class period forward to also cover all fighters who competed in bouts between June 30, 2017, and the present,” Cramer said in a statement.

Fighters who had a bout with the UFC during the included dates will have the opportunity to opt in or out of the class.

At the crux of the claims is that Zuffa and parent company Endeavor, which purchased the UFC in 2016, violated antitrust laws to lock fighters into long-term exclusive contracts that prevented them from competing elsewhere, used its market dominance to coerce fighters into signing those contracts and acquiring and then closing down the competition.

William A. Isaacson, lead counsel for the UFC, disputed those claims.

“This new filing rehashes verbatim of the nearly decade-old allegations of the prior case and adds nothing new of substance,” he said. “UFC has spent many years building a world-class organization, enhancing the brand of our athletes and championing the sport of MMA. UFC pays its fighters more than any other MMA promoter, with average fighter compensation rising by over 600 percent since 2005. Our efforts have raised the global popularity of the sport and the overall revenue potential of all MMA organizations and athletes.”

While the UFC has purchased several fledgling competitors and folded them into the organization, other promotions have succeeded.

Bellator MMA is owned by ViacomCBS and broadcasts events on multiple platforms under its umbrella. ONE Championship has a massive footprint in Asia and signed a three-year deal with Turner Sports in 2018 for U.S. distribution. Professional Fighters League debuted in 2018 with a $1 million prize for the winner in each weight class each season with events currently airing on ESPN.

All those organizations have competed for free agents against the UFC and made offers for fighters with expiring contracts in the UFC, which is expected to be a major argument by the defendants in the case.

One of the fighters on the new suit is C.B. Dollaway, a former All-America wrestler at Arizona State who entered the UFC through “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2008 and competed in the organization until 2018.

“We train hard and risk our bodies to succeed in this sport,” Dollaway said. “Every time we step into that octagon, we leave a piece of ourselves behind. The UFC should have to pay us competitive compensation for our services, just like professional athletes in other sports get paid based on competitive markets.”

Previous proceedings have revealed that the UFC pays fighters approximately 20 percent of revenue, a figure that widely has been compared to other major sports organizations that are closer to 50 percent under most collective bargaining agreements.

The UFC, however, has a vastly different business model, and fighters have never formed a union to work toward a CBA.

Kajan Johnson fought in the UFC from 2014 to 2018 and retired from MMA after he was released from his contract. An outspoken advocate for fighters’ rights during his career, he was part of a push to unionize and is the other plaintiff in the new case.

“I am honored to bring this lawsuit not only on behalf of myself but all those fighters in the proposed bout class who are afraid to speak out against the injustice we have endured,” Johnson said. “I feel obligated to do my part to leave the sport better off for my students and all future mixed martial artists to come.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.